APTA agrees on lower tariff

cctv.com 11-03-2005 16:20

The first session of the Ministerial Council of the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement opened Wednesday in Beijing. Trade ministers of the six member countries agreed that the tariff concessions of the third round of negotiations under the agreement will be effective from July 1st next year.

The Asia Pacific Trade Agreement, or APTA, is the new name of the Bangkok Agreement which has existed for 30 years. The first ministerial council meeting of the agreement said the reason for the name change is to prepare for future expansion and to cover broader cooperation between members. The meeting adopted the Ministerial Declaration and also announced that the tariff concessions reached at the third round of negotiations under the agreement will be effective from July 1st next year.

Minister of Commerce of China Bo Xilai said: "Ministers from the six member countries agreed that new tariffs will be put in place in July 2006. In total, more than 4,000 products are included in the new round of tariff-cuts. China will lower tariffs of nearly 1,700 products, including agricultural, textiles and chemical goods, to the other five members. The taxes are lowered by an average of 27 per cent. This is a mutually-beneficial arrangement for all of us."

Initiated by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, APTA, or Bangkok Agreement, was signed in 1975. It is a preferential tariff arrangement that aims at promoting intra-regional trade through exchange of mutually agreed concessions by member countries. Members of the agreement include China, India, South Korea, Bangladesh, Laos and Sri Lanka. With a joint population of close to 2.5 billion people, trade volume among the member countries reached nearly 2 trillion US dollars in 2004.

Editor:Wang Ping  Source:CCTV.com